After keeping their first clean sheet in over a month against Longlevens on Tuesday night, Brimscombe & Thrupp manager Sam Prior is hoping his side can continue in the same vein in their Hellenic Premier Division clash with Brackley Town Saints on Saturday, writes Johnny Morton.

Prior had called on his side to show a positive response from their 3-1 loss to Highmoor Ibis last weekend in a performance he described as 'dreadful', and he got what he was looking for in a 1-0 win over Levens.

"The boys knew they had let themselves down last Saturday," said Prior.

"Sometimes you get a game like that in a season, and it was just a one-off for us. We turned up on Tuesday night and had a chat about what we thought we needed to improve on, and they went out there and were much better.

"We worked harder, showed more quality on the ball, defended much better and did the basics right. We got lucky with the goal with the lad putting it into his own net. There is never much between us and Longlevens.

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"You have to give yourself an opportunity to win games and get points from games of football, and when you are conceding one, two or three every game, you are making it hard for yourself," he added.

"I know we scored seven at Fairford, but that's a one off game. When you are conceding two and expecting to win the game, you're making it too hard for yourself.

"If you keep a clean sheet and keep it tight, you give yourself an opportunity to always be in the game come 75 minutes, then you're laughing.

"We speak about it all the time - the amount of late goals in this league is unbeliavble. Even at 2-1 you are always in the game. If you keep a clean sheet, then it gives everyone a lot more confidence and hopefully we take that into Saturday."

With an almost fully fit squad now at his disposal, Prior is looking to start picking up further points that could see his side enter in to the top six in the league table.

"All the boys are doing well, it's just finding that confidence," he said.

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"Winning games will bring confidence. If you look at Highworth who have won 10 out of 10, they could play everyday at the moment. It's just sending the boys out who you think will do the job for you.

"If you look at Tuesday night, I had a strong 16 man squad and the likes of Edd Major and Kyle Pitts didn't even get on the pitch, which is unfortunate for them, but it just shows that when we have everyone available there is strength in depth and we can impact from the bench, which makes a huge difference.

"We haven't had a chance to do that for the last four or five games, no disrespect to the boys who have been on the pitch. It's just a slightly different calibre of player and if we can continue with the availability being high, there will be no reason why we can't keep picking up points."

Their defence will once again be tested when Josh Bowden arrives at The Meadow this weekend.

The Brackley striker has netted 15 league goals in nine league appearances, and only Highworth Town, Flackwell Heath and Bracknell Town can better the tally of 26 scored so far this season by the Saints.

Prior is expecting a tough test against what has proven to be a 'bogey' team for his side over the years.

"For some reason they have been a bit of a bogey side for us," he added.

"We scored six against them last season, but they were a completely different side to what we were used to. Before that, they've always had the upper hand against us.

"They have a young side that play football and keep possession, make you work and are coached the right way. They have the top goal scorer in the league in Josh Bowden, so there's an obvious danger there that we will have to get to grips with.

"It's always a tough game against them, and whatever we get from the game, we will have to work hard for. I said to the boys that we will have to be patient and wait for what we get on Saturday, and hopefully we can make a good game of it.

"We have to find consistency in our performances and then I'm sure the results will start following."

Sam Blackie will miss the game with a groin injury, while defender Kyle Pitts is suspended after picking up a red card against Highmoor last weekend.